Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has extended the joint venture with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC for two more years to acquire stressed assets. The JV was first started in 2019, but the pandemic stalled its plans.

Speaking with BusinessLine on the sidelines of the IHCL Capital Markets Day 2022, Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of IHCL, said, “The JV with GIC is on track. The JV was for three years; it has now been extended by two more years.”

In May 2019, IHCL along with GIC had set up a ₹4,000-crore investment platform with the aim of acquiring fully operational hotels in the luxury and upscale segments in India. The equity contribution from IHCL was set to be at 30 per cent, and the balance would be contributed by GIC.

Deferred plans

The platform had plans to acquire a stressed asset for over ₹120 crore. However, the plan was deferred in June 2020 after rising Covid 19 cases hit the hospitality industry.

At the time, a company source had explained that the valuation wasn’t right, and the company had to conserve cash. Therefore, it wasn’t the correct time to scout for assets.  

IHCL has a portfolio of 236 hotels — including 60 under development — across 4 continents, 11 countries, and in over 100 locations.

Growth path

During the press meet on Monday, Chhatwal also said the company is charting out a new growth plan.

He said the company aims to take its total count of hotels to 300 by 2025-2026. Of these, “Taj is slated to grow to 100 hotels across the globe, while Vivanta and SeleQtions will scale to a portfolio of 75 hotels, and Ginger will scale to 125 hotels. We also plan to add 500 ama stays.”

Targets under Ahvaan 2025
EBIDTA33%
DebtZero
Total number of hotels300
Ginger Hotels125
Taj Hotels100
Vivanta and SeleQtions Hotels75
Portfolio divide (owned/managed)50/50
Qmin home delivery platformWill expand to 25 plus cities
AMA homestay500
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